


The Cold Side of the Moon

by MxFlix



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Crossover, F/F, Lesbian Cassandra (Disney: Tangled), Lesbian Elsa (Disney), Post-Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23382028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MxFlix/pseuds/MxFlix
Summary: Through mysterious circumstances, Cassandra finds herself in the Kingdom of Arendelle - in the past. Seeing an opportunity for a new beginning, she stays with the newly-crowned Queen Elsa and her family for the next three years.[Tags will be added as they appear in upcoming chapters]
Relationships: Cassandra & Elsa (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra/Elsa (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 75
Collections: raps





	1. Open your door!

Cassandra was lost. She had woken up just some hours before, finding herself in an unfamiliar environment, and with an enormous gap in her memory. Or rather, it _felt_ like there was an enormous gap in her memory: She remembered being in the Dark Kingdom, reaching out for the moonstone, grasping it before Rapunzel could… and then she woke up in a snowstorm, only for the weather to become like summer a short time later. And yet she was sure that the Dark Kingdom had been almost a year ago, and a feeling of guilt creeping through every bit of her body told her that many things had happened within that time. She had done something, something horrible, something that had hurt many people around her, probably including Raps.

Despite the warmth of the summer night, Cassandra was nonetheless still shivering. The chilly wind had not only crept below her clothing at every opportunity but had also pushed her into a dozen snowbanks. And yet now there was not a single bit of snow anywhere, and no drop of meltwater was in sight. Cass was no stranger to magic, and not even to magical snowstorms, but that did not stop it from feeling unnatural. She pushed those thoughts aside. For now, the important thing was to find warmth, and, if possible, familiar faces. And the castle she saw sitting on a peninsula in the bay was probably her best bet for that, especially as it was the only building she saw with its lights still on. 

As she stumbled towards it, she searched her mind for an answer to her memory loss. Images flashed before her mind’s eye, of the blue-hued girl she saw behind the door in the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow, of a gigantic tower built out of black rocks, of crushing Rapunzel between the rocks... Cassandra staggered and had to hold herself on the bridge’s railing for a bit. What had happened to Rapunzel? Had she maybe lost her memory because of the shock of having... She banished the thought from her mind. “No,” she whispered to herself, “I would never... I could never... I’m sure Raps is fine!”

She continued stumbling towards the open castle gates. Evidently, there had been some sort of celebration, as there were still flags and banners hanging from every lamppost along the bridge. Something must have had happened during this celebration to cause the snow and ice to appear out of thin air.

Two fountains stood in the courtyard, their gushing water the first bit of movement Cassandra had seen for a while. She took a few sips of the water to refresh herself; it felt warm and returned some strength to her. It was only a few more steps towards the castle doors, on which Cass knocked with her closed fist. The sound reverberated through the courtyard. She stood in front of the gates, waiting expectantly. Standing still for a while caused her limbs to weaken again, and she supported herself against the wooden door, only to immediately regret that decision as the door opened and knocked her off her feet. She heard someone gasp, and a female voice said, “Oh no! I’m so sor-” before she lost consciousness again.

* * *

When Cassandra came to, she was laid on something soft. Letting her fingers wander around, she determined it to be some sort of sofa. Even though her eyes were still closed, she could see that the light was flickering in orange and yellow. Something was burning. She sprung up as she opened her eyes but immediately chastised herself as she looked ahead. Of course, it was only a furnace. A beautifully decorated one, with intricate wheat patterns on the mantelpiece’s wood and the fireplace’s bricks. However, the little wood there was had clearly been hastily inserted by an inexperienced hand. They were too far apart, lay directly on the stone hearth instead of the andirons, and some had even been thrown onto the outer hearth. Nobody was in the room with Cassandra, though going by its size and decor, she was clearly in the castle, so she slowly made her way over to the fire, enjoying the warmth it provided. Carefully, she used the poker to position the logs as best she could, although she did not add any more. Over the rustling, she did not hear the door open.

“You’re alive! Oh, that’s good. How are you? Are you hurt? I’m so sorry!”

Cassandra jerked around, letting the poker fall with a loud clang. In the doorframe stood a woman. Although her braided hair was white, she did not seem very old – just about Cassandra’s age, in fact – and she was wearing a tight blue dress. Cassandra could not put her finger on it, but _something_ about the dress felt off, though she set the thought aside. The woman held herself with the unmistakable air of royalty that the former handmaiden had seen so often, but she also had her elbows clasped in her hands and avoided eye contact. 

“I’ll live,” she said as she stood up. “Where am I?”

“We brought you into the castle. I couldn’t possibly have asked the citizens for a spot in their homes, at this hour... after this night.” She looked to the side as she tightened the grip on her elbows. “I’m sorry.”

Cassandra shook her head. “Which castle, though? Before I knocked at the door, I had only woken up some time ago, and I don’t know at all where I am. We’re not in Corona, are we?”

The woman was confused as she searched in her mind for a bit before she replied, “Corona? I might have seen that on a trade map, but... it’s nowhere near Arendelle! How did you get here without knowing?”

“Arendelle?” Now it was Cassandra’s turn to search her head for the name in vain. “I’m sorry, I can’t say I have ever heard of it. And,” she strained her mind again for a bit, “I have no idea how I ended up here. There seems to be a long gap in my memory. Maybe years...” She trailed off, realizing something. “Can you tell me the date?” 

“Today is the twenty-third of July in the year 1883.”

Cassandra stumbled backward against the chimney and buried her head in her hands. “No... no, no, no. That can’t be. That’s impossible!” She slumped down onto the outer hearth. Carefully, she removed the glove from her right arm and pulled up the sleeve. It was faint, almost fully healed, but it was still there. She looked at the woman again. “Are you absolutely certain?”

A nod. “Can I ask, why is it so impossible?”

Cassandra looked at her arm again and took a deep breath. “That’s two years before I was in The Dark Kingdom. Two years before the last thing I remember.” She clutched her arm. Her memory of the journey in the caravan, the year she spent with Rapunzel in Corona… it was all clear in her mind. But if this woman was to be believed, Rapunzel had only been saved from her tower one month ago. She held her arm such that her burns were illuminated by the fire and visible to the other person. “I distinctly remember getting this scar late in 1884, if not 1885. Are you absolutely, positively sure of the date?” Without realizing it, Cassandra had angrily raised her voice to a near shout.

The woman shrank back, tightening her grip on her elbows further. “I’m sorry,” she stammered, “I don’t know how…” but she was then interrupted by the sound of footsteps running down the corridor outside the door. Another woman, similar looking to the first, but slightly younger and with red hair, had come to a skidding halt in front of the room and was now stomping towards Cassandra.

“Hey,” she nearly shouted as well, “leave my sister alone! It’s not her fault!” She turned around to face her sister and softly placed a hand on the other’s arm. Cassandra could see the sister flinch at the touch, but she did not draw back. “Are you okay, Elsa? She didn’t hurt you, did she?” Elsa shook her head.

“No, Anna, don’t worry. I’m alright. It’s... it’s not her fault. Anyone would be confused in her situation.” She collected herself. “Thank you, Anna.” She looked at Cassandra again and straightened her back, finally releasing her elbows. “You have not yet told me your name.” Anna stepped aside but kept a stern glance fixed on the intruder.

“Cassandra. My name is Cassandra.”

“Well, Cassandra: Believe it or not, we might be able to help you. There is someone I wanted to visit as soon as possible anyway, a friend of the family who is...” her face darkened a bit, “...adept when it comes to memories.”

“Wait, what?” Anna interjected. “Who do you mean? I don’t remember anyone we know who…” Her eyes widened as the implications of what she had been about to say hit her. 

Elsa looked at her with a sad expression and nodded. “I need to bring you to the trolls, Anna. I just hope they can reverse what they did to you all those years ago. Do you know if we have enough horses in the stables? Or maybe even a wagon of some sort? We need to get to the valley before sunrise.”

Anna still looked distressed but was immediately distracted when Elsa mentioned a wagon. “Oh! Actually, that’s something I wanted to talk about with you! Do you remember Kristoff?” She pointed at the doorframe. Looking there, Cassandra saw a figure she had overlooked before. A blond man in some sort of traditional garb who looked confusedly at the whole scene, holding a candle in one hand. Anna grinned as she neared her head to Elsa’s and whispered something into her sister’s ear.

“Are you sure, Anna? You say it’s our only working sled?” Elsa whispered back. Anna shushed her. “It’s going to be great! We can use it tonight, and then,” she lowered her voice, “we give it a beautiful new coat of paint, and, he really deserves it, you know?”

Elsa sighed. “You do have a point.” She turned around to the man in the door. “Mr. Bjorgman? Firstly, we would like to thank you for the help you have given us during my... during the last few days. I fear we need your services again. I understand you can steer a sled?”

Kristoff nodded. “Just... Kristoff is fine. You said you need to go to the trolls, right? Sven and I can take you there, no problem, Your Majesty!”

“Majesty?” Cassandra exclaimed, surprised. So, she really was as high ranking as her posture suggested.

Anna grinned. “You are addressing Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, and of course, Anna, Princess of Arendelle!”

Cassandra straightened up, as she had learned from her father. “Your Majesty! Your Highness! I am sorry to have troubled you.”

But Elsa only rolled her eyes. “Anna, please.” Her sister giggled. “This is really not the time for that. If you would lead Kristoff to the stables so that he can prepare hi… our sled, I will follow shortly with our guest.”

When Anna had left, Elsa turned again to Cassandra. “Please don’t start calling me ‘Your Majesty’ or something like that. I was only crowned a few days ago, and right away, I have... messed things up. I have not earned any title yet.” Cassandra was about to ask what she meant but was cut short. “We shouldn’t keep Anna and Kristoff waiting. We can answer your questions on the way to the trolls.”

“Just one question, Your Maje… Elsa. Trolls?”

For the first time since they met, Elsa smiled, and Cassandra found she looked absolutely stunning doing so.

“Yes, Cassandra. Trolls.”

* * *

The sled was old but kept in rather good shape. When Elsa and Cassandra arrived, Anna and Kristoff had already prepared it for the ride, with a reindeer (who was introduced to Cassandra as Sven) ready to pull. Reference was made to an Olaf, who, Anna assured Elsa, was fast asleep.

During the bumpy ride, the two sisters told Cassandra of the events that had unfolded during Elsa’s coronation and the days that followed. Or rather, Anna told Cassandra, as Elsa, embarrassed, tried not to make eye contact, as she evidently heard the tale for the first time from another’s perspective. She only modestly interjected at some points to downplay some of the achievements Anna ascribed to her, but it couldn’t prevent Cassandra from being absolutely stunned by the queen’s powers. On her coronation, she had taken her life into her own hands, built a massive fortress away from Arendelle in her own little kingdom of isolation, shutting herself off from everyone, and still her sister had come for her, first in need of her help, but in the end saving her life. The guilt Cassandra had been feeling surfaced again, and without knowing exactly why, she wished she, too, had the power to just build herself a fortress, where she could live away from everyone. But like Elsa, she probably wouldn’t be able to stay alone. Rapunzel would come for her. She wasn’t her sister, but they had been inseparable nonetheless... Hadn’t they?

She thought back to that bit of memory of Rapunzel being crushed by black rocks. That couldn’t have been her, could it? Cassandra had no idea what happened after she took the moonstone, but why would it ever lead to her harming Raps? Surely, she had understood. And yet, there was still that overwhelming feeling of guilt gnawing at her insides.

Her insecurity must’ve had shown on her face, as Elsa asked, “Are you alright, Cassandra? Do you remember anything?”

“The only thing I know is that I must have done something... absolutely terrible. I feel so guilty, but I don’t know why! I just hope your trolls can help.”

Anna and Elsa looked at her with troubled and worried faces as Kristoff turned around from the front of the sled, “Speaking of which, we’re just about there! We’ll need to go the rest of the way on foot.”

The short remainder of the journey, Cassandra was left to her own thoughts once again. However, this time they were much more uplifting: She was fighting alongside Raps, helping her save Corona from... what? She saw Eugene lying on the floor, weak and motionless. A big black mess of an enemy...

And then she had died. The memory made her pause a bit. Was this the afterlife? Were those people, Anna, Kristoff, Elsa, angels? But it didn’t feel like the afterlife. That was supposed to be either absolute pleasure or eternal damnation, wasn’t it? And the way she was feeling... did she belong in hell?

“Cassandra? Are you coming?” asked Elsa’s soft voice. Cassandra was jerked out of her thoughts and realized that she must have stood in one spot for quite a while. She nodded and hurried to catch up with the sisters to Kristoff, who was standing at the edge of a clearing.

“Now, you two need no introduction, but, erm, Cassandra: Welcome to my home!” he said as he lifted aside some leaves as if opening a door. They looked down into a little, round, stony valley, going in steps down towards a center circle. Small patches of moss and grass adorned the stones, especially a lot of noticeably smoth and round ones strewn about all over the place.

As they descended into the center of the crater, Elsa asked, “How do you know that I need no introduction?”

“Oh...” he began, “when I was little, I saw the two of you here with your parents. That’s when the trolls adopted me, actually!”

“Wait, what? What does he mean, Elsa? I wasn’t here before last night, after...” She paused, hesitant to put her feelings into words, and before she could continue, some movement began among the rocks.

To Cassandra’s astonishment, the round rocks themselves were moving, rolling towards them from all sides. Cassandra stumbled backward a bit until she bumped against Elsa, causing them both to jump forward the tiniest bit. The rocks that were now nearest to them unfolded, for lack of a better term. They became little rotund figures, with hair and clothes made from moss, and arms, hands, legs, feet, faces, all made from rock. Moving, sentient rock.

“KRISTOFF!” one of the trolls shouted. “You’re back!” joined in another. “And you healed Anna!”

Hurriedly, Kristoff waved his hands. “No, no, that wasn’t me! She did it all on her own, actually.”

Elsa stepped forward. “We would like to speak to Grand Pabbie.”

Another rock, slightly bigger and more cracked than the others, rolled towards them. A visibly older troll appeared, walking using a cane. “Elsa!” he said, “your majesty!” He bowed slightly, as did the other trolls. “I...” he hesitated for a while before he continued speaking, “After what happened at your coronation, I am so sorry that I was not able to prepare you better for your powers!”

But Elsa shook her head. “My isolation was to blame. Maybe if I had practiced them more, all of this would not have happened. But there is something you can do for me. Or rather, for Anna.” She looked at her sister, and Pabbie followed her gaze.

“Ah, yes, Anna! My dear child,” he held out his hand, and Anna laid hers in it, still confused. “I have done something horrible to you, and I must apologize.” He sunk his head in shame. “Many years ago, an accident occurred, and I thought it was best for everyone if you forget all about it. I altered your mind to replace all your memories of Elsa’s powers, but as I should have known back then, I inadvertently made everything worse. I am so, so sorry.”

Anna was speechless at first. She looked at Elsa, whose head also hung in shame, likewise with Kristoff. A lot of questions raced through Cassandra’s mind, as Anna had only briefly mentioned in her retelling that the sisters had been separated, but those questions would have to wait for later. Finally, Anna spoke. “It makes so much sense!” She started pacing back and forth in a short line. “Of course you had those powers longer than since your coronation. Were you born with them? Yes, probably, if you had them when we were little. Is that why we couldn’t see each other? Did Mom and Dad know? How did you get the powers? “

Elsa thought shortly, then answered, “Yes, yes, sadly, they did, and I don’t know. Actually, it was Mom and Dad who brought us here after the accident. They agreed to let Pabbie alter your memory, for your own safety.”

“Didn’t I have anything to say about that?”

“You were unconscious, Anna. We had to act quickly; we didn’t know if the cold would spread!”

Anna nodded, albeit with a sullen expression. She turned to the head troll. “Please restore my memories, Pabbie. They are a part of me, and I don’t want to misremember my sister.”

Pabbie nodded and closed his eyes. With a swift move of his hands, he made images appear in the air above Anna’s head. They showed a young Anna playing with her sister outside, in the snow, sledding, having a snowball fight, building a snowman. But as Pabbie waved his hands over them, the real memories were revealed.

A young Elsa made snow appear inside the castle hall, and the sisters were sledding around inside the walls. In another memory, Anna was throwing snowballs at Elsa faster than her magic could create them. In some memories, the sled was not wooden but made of ice. Sometimes there were little figurines made of snow, used by the sisters as other children would use dolls. Every single memory of the sisters playing together in the magical snow radiated happiness, but Elsa, with her face near tears, was focused solely on one. It showed little Anna hopping from ice pillar to ice pillar, each created just in time by Elsa. But something went wrong. Elsa lost her grip on the slippery floor, and fell. Anna hopped on without noticing, and young Elsa, shaking from the fall, shot some magic in her direction to catch her, but instead, the magic hit Anna in the head, making her fall, making her freeze. 

Elsa looked away, her shoulders trembling. Anna turned to her and silently hugged her, while Kristoff and Cassandra stood by awkwardly. Pabbie let Anna’s hand glide out of his and sighed heavily. “It is done. All the memories that I took from you have now been returned. I am so, so sorry, my dear Anna.”

More moments of silence passed, only broken by both sisters quietly crying into each other’s shoulder. When they separated, Elsa whispered, “I missed you, Anna. I missed you so much.”

“Nothing will ever get between us, ever again,” Anna replied.

Elsa turned to the troll. “There’s one more thing, Pabbie. This woman, Cassandra, says that she has lost part of her memory, but also that the last thing she remembers is two years from now. Can your magic help return her memories as well?”

Pabbie looked at Cassandra. “Let me see what I can do.” He held his hand towards her, and when Cassandra hesitated, he added, “Don’t worry, my child. I won’t do anything to your memories without you agreeing to it.” She stretched out her hand to lay it in his, but as soon as her skin touched the stone, he jerked back. “What? What is... I feel powerful magic slumbering within you, my dear. Powerful, dark magic! What have you done?” Cassandra stumbled back, looking at the shocked faces around her. Before she could reply, however, Pabbie caught himself. “No, no, I did not mean to shout.” He held his hand out again. “I can return your memories, but it may come at a terrible price. The magic that is within you might awaken again, and it will be up to you to control it. But, well,” he glanced at Elsa, “as we have learned, keeping such magic bottled up can lead to even more disastrous consequences.” Cassandra slowly laid her hand in his. “Would you like me to restore your memories, Cassandra?”

She nodded. Clasping her hands with both of his, Grand Pabbie began whispering words in an ancient language. He let go of her as she began to glow with a dim blue light, and she could feel something coursing through her veins. She closed her eyes, and the disconnected images she had been seeing since she woke up began forming into coherent memories. As her hair started turning blue again, Cassandra remembered everything.


	2. I thought I knew my purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembering everything, but thrown off-track, Cassandra has to begin to adjust to a new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me so long to add this new chapter! Honestly, I just picked the worst time to start the story, as I also had just started writing my bachelor's thesis...  
> Future chapters should arrive much more timely!
> 
> Also, I upped the rating to Teen and Up, because of some things that will happen in later chapters.

Elsa felt her sister gently taking and pressing her hand, while Kristoff hurried over to stand beside Anna. Some trolls hid behind the humans’ legs, all but Grand Pabbie, who only took a few steps back. All their gazes were focused entirely on Cassandra, whose hair had now turned completely blue, with a likewise blue aura starting to shimmer around her. Cassandra dropped to her knees; her head buried in her hands. Only faintly, Elsa could hear her say over and over, “It’s all my fault... All my fault...”

“Cassandra?” Elsa asked, and approached her carefully, feeling her sister right behind her. As they looked on, a dark gray substance emerged from Cassandra’s chest, atop her heart, and began to form around her, covering her clothes and turning black and solid. “Cassandra, are you alright?” She didn’t react, even when Elsa also dropped to her knees so that her head was level with Cassandra’s. Anna, however, went past Elsa, also kneeled on the ground, and softly put a hand on Cassandra’s arm. Even though it was already covered by the strange black matter that had come from her heart, Cassandra clearly felt it as she finally looked up and directly at Anna.

“Your Majesty!” she said weakly. “No... You...” Her head turned to Elsa. “I,” she began but interrupted herself when she noticed some of her hair hanging in front of her eyes. As her whole body trembled, she pulled the strand of blue hair down to have a better view of it. “ _No!_ ” she gasped and looked down at her hands. The blackness had reached them now, unstoppably engulfing her gloves, forming two hard, albeit unevenly sized, gauntlets, and steadily continuing on towards her legs. “Not again... please!” She looked at Pabbie. “Please make it stop!”

He shook his head. “I cannot do that. My magic only restored your memories. These powers were slumbering within you already; they were merely re-awoken.”

“But I got rid of it all! Every last shard of the Moonstone was destroyed; I got rid of every last remnant of that awful thing!”

Grand Pabbie’s head sunk. “You were cursed with an incredible power, my dear, and wielded that power for almost a year. Doing that leaves deep traces in a human’s body, far beyond the original source.”

Cassandra stared at him in disbelief, then at her hands again. Her mouth opened several times as if to reply, but eventually, she could only let out a loud scream as she slammed her fists onto the ground. At that moment, a black rock broke through the dirt between her and Elsa – very slowly. It was a shiny black color, apparently from the same kind of stone-like material as her new armor. Cassandra looked at the spike, a surprised expression on her face, and touched it with her hand. “Of course... The rocks are still sleeping! Then that means—” she got back up on her feet, “there’s still time!” She looked up into confused faces. “Thank you,” she continued with a somber expression, “for all your help. I had other plans, but I have to leave you alone now. I have about five months to figure out how to get rid of these powers for good, and it’s probably best if I stay far away from you or any other soul. I don’t want to accidentally hurt anybody. Maybe—” .

“Cassandra, wait.” Even Elsa herself was surprised that her sharp exclamation was filled with _anger_. Cassandra flinched, and Elsa continued, mustering all her regal authority. “When I was nine years old, I locked myself up, believing that my powers could only ever be used to hurt the ones I love. For more than ten years, I separated myself from my loved ones instead; I wasn’t even there for Anna when our parents died. Only now has reconnecting with her allowed me to start to come to terms with my powers and learn how to wield them. Of course I don’t know how similar your powers are to mine, but nevertheless, I cannot allow you to make the same mistake I did; I cannot allow you to shut yourself off from the world.” She pressed her lips together, surprised by the wall of words that had come out of her mouth, then took a deep breath and spoke normally again. “You don’t have to protect us. We’re not afraid. And we want to help you.” She held her hand out toward Cassandra.

* * *

Cassandra thought for what seemed like an eternity. When she had gained these powers previously, she hadn’t been alone either. A young girl had offered her help, taught her how to control the rocks, taught her how to get her revenge on Rapunzel. Taught her how to be _evil_. The thought of Zhan Tiri made her shudder. For months at a time, the woman-turned-monster had fueled her anger and hatred and used it for her own purposes. She had steered Cassandra to confront Rapunzel and only then revealed her true colors. _And the worst part is,_ Cassandra thought to herself, _that up until the end, I did all the evil things myself, and didn’t even see it. Should I now really trust another stranger?_

But then she thought back, to before she returned to this time. Queen Elsa and Anna weren’t strangers. Not _really_. She hadn’t met either of them before in person, but she had wandered around in the town of Arendelle, and everywhere she went she had heard nothing but praise for the sisters. How after years of isolation, Queen Elsa had opened the gates again, literally and metaphorically. How Princess Anna had spent near every day in the market listening to the people and taking their voices into consideration. And, most relevant, how Elsa had more and more learned to control her powers, and always used them as much as she could to help everyone who needed them, while restraining herself from using them when they could hurt people. There had been nothing but love from the townspeople for the royal sisters, and nothing but love between them, too.

Also, if she stayed with them, her journey here might not have been for naught after all.

She allowed herself a small smile and shook Elsa’s hand. Even through her new accursed armor, she could feel that it was cold, far colder than any human’s she’d ever touched. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Elsa returned the smile, equally unused to them. “I told you already. Just ‘Elsa’ will suffice. I don’t know how much I can help you as a queen, but I certainly can as a friend.”

Cassandra looked aside. _Friend_. She simply nodded, and Grand Pabbie spoke again. “Cassandra, I am certain you are in very good hands now. If you should ever be in need of more help with your magic, please don’t hesitate to come to me. Of course, the same goes for you, Queen Elsa. However, for now I must say farewell: The sun is rising, and so we trolls must slumber.” Several of his kin were already yawning and spreading out over the valley as the sleeping spheres they were when the humans had come. He, too, was now bowing as his farewell and rolled himself up to become one of many near-indistinguishable rocks dotting the landscape as the first beams of the morning sun stretched over the valley.

Cassandra noticed that she was still holding Elsa’s hand, and let go, embarrassed. They set off toward the sled to return to the castle. Behind them, Cassandra heard Anna say, “Kristoff, are you coming?” Turning around, she saw that he was just coming up again from kneeling on the ground, seemingly deep in thought. But he said nothing, just nodded and hurried ahead of them toward the sled. He cleaned up the back a bit, tightened the harness around Sven, and then sat on the front bench.

The women climbed into the back of the sled and Cassandra put her bag, which she had left there, on her lap. When they were all seated, Kristoff just said to his reindeer, “Back to the castle now, Sven,” and they started moving, without him needing so much as to touch the reins. After a period of silence, he was the first one to speak, turning around to his passengers to do so. “Sooooo... Cassandra. Don’t think we have been properly introduced yet, though you already know my name’s Kristoff. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” replied Cassandra.

He cleared his throat, clearly glad to have the pleasantries out of the way, and eager to get to the main issue. “Yeah. Uhm, so, I didn’t catch your entire conversation with Elsa earlier, but just before Anna so rudely interrupted you, ” Anna playfully stuck her tongue out at him, “you mentioned that you were... from the future?” He looked at both Anna and Elsa. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s wondering: what happened? You have your memories back now, don’t you?” The sisters appeared to agree with him, as now three inquisitory looks focused on Cassandra.

“Oh...” She hesitated and looked away. “If it’s alright with you, I’d prefer not to talk about it. Let’s just say I messed up pretty badly only a year ago, hurt the people I love, and now I’m trying to do better.”

Elsa nodded and took her sister’s hand. “I understand.” She said, and gave Cassandra another small smile. “Maybe... you could tell us about your life _before_? You know, in general?”

“Well, let’s see... I grew up with my father, the captain of the guard of Corona. I trained every day to join the guards’ rank, or maybe even become captain myself one day, but he... was always against it. So I was instead trained as a handmaiden.  
“Several years — or, well, a month ago, now — the lost princess of Corona, Rapunzel... Raps... was finally found and rescued, and I was assigned as her lady-in-waiting. We did eventually become friends, too, and she’s never given up on me since, even...” She cut herself off, having touched upon a topic that she wasn’t very sure how she felt about. She whispered, more to herself than the sisters, “...even when I might have wanted her to,” and then decided to wrap up her life’s story more quickly. “Well, we will go on some adventures, defeat a misunderstood scientist, have some more fun adventures, Raps and I will have some... disagreements,” she touched her arm, where the scar was now hidden beneath the rock armor, “I will make, or rather, made, some, uhm, bad choices, and then Raps and I defeated an evil demon, I went wandering the world and at one point I decided to come here. I think that about sums it up.”

The Arendellians were speechless for a while, the only sound coming from the sleigh’s runners bumping around on terrain they were not at all made for. Kristoff coughed awkwardly to break the silence and then turned around to face front again to guide Sven, even though it was barely necessary. Anna yawned, mumbled something, and then fell asleep on Elsa’s shoulder, occasionally snoring loudly. She jumped ever so slightly at the sudden touch, but then chuckled quietly. “Please forgive her. I don’t think she has slept much in the past few days, it must have finally caught up with her.” She also yawned. “Well, I suppose the same goes for me.” Trying to keep herself awake for a bit longer, she examined Cassandra’s stony clothing. “This armor of yours... Is it made of those same rocks you control?”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes. It appeared the first time I gained these powers, too. But back then, I had full – well, more or less full – control over the rocks. I was able to remove the armor anytime I wanted, which helped a lot with blending in during my short visits to some towns. But this time, well...” It occurred to her that she hadn’t even tried yet, just assumed due to the rocks still being asleep. She concentrated on the rock around her hand, concentrated on an image in her mind of it moving away, freeing her hand, just like she could control the stones back then, but to no avail. “Yeah, looks like I can’t control the armor. Yet, hopefully. I guess I’ll have to spend quite some time in this thing.”

Elsa stared at the armored hand in thought. “Hmmm... I might have an idea. There’s something I’ve been meaning to try, though I shall practice it first.” She yawned again. “But for now, let’s just get to Arendelle. Maybe you should rest as well.” She laid her head on Anna’s and fell quickly and silently asleep. Cassandra watched them for a bit, but then had to yawn too, and made herself comfortable as well.

* * *

She was woken up by a loud, repeated clanging of metal on metal. Reaching for a pillow that wasn’t there to pull it over her ears, she finally gave up and raised her head above the sleigh’s rim to look around. They were in the middle of Arendelle’s central square and as the sun had already risen above the mountains, the townspeople were already hard at work. Several stalls stood at the sides of the marketplace selling what looked to Cassandra like models of the castle and other souvenirs. Other stands sold food, a handwritten sign advertising local dishes like “ _Lefse_ ”, “ _Lutefisk_ ”, or “ _Krumkake_ ". The loud clanging came from a bladesmith’s shop inset in a dark corner of the houses surrounding the square. A brawny, dark woman was working a sword on an anvil, while another woman, just as dark and muscular, sat beside the anvil and held a wooden sword in which’s hilt she carved an intricate design for the little boy waiting eagerly for her to finish. When she saw this, Cassandra’s annoyance subsided somewhat; everything was half as bad with good swords involved.

For a while, Cassandra watched the smiths working. The woman at the anvil was tall, probably about two heads higher than Cassandra. She couldn’t make out her face in the shadows, except for what seemed like an old burn scar on her right side. Her hair was voluminous and curly, but bound back, to not interfere with her work. The other woman’s height was harder to judge as she was sitting down, but she appeared to be overall smaller than her colleague. In the flickering of the furnace’s light, Cassandra saw what appeared to be painted lines on her bare arm, and a light blue cloth with an intricate pattern covered her mouth. Her hair was wavy and swept to one side.

Just as she remembered that she had lost her sword during the snowstorm and would need to buy a new one soon, she was distracted by a nearby voice speaking to her. “Woah! Why’s your hair glowing so weird?” It was a young boy who had come close to the sleigh and was now staring intensely at Cassandra. She groaned and tried to ignore him. “Are you magic? The queen’s magic, you know?”

Suddenly, a blanket was thrown over Cassandra’s head, covering her hair. Anna looked past down to the boy and said. “Yep, she’s magic. And you better run along, or my sister will freeze your nosy nose, Arne!” The boy stuck his tongue out and then ran away to some friends waiting nearby. Anna turned to Cassandra. “Are you alright? He wasn’t bothering you, was he?”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“Good. Well, not good that you’re used to it, I mean. But good that he didn’t bother you. Now get up, sleepyhead! The castle’s waiting, and I promise you, it looks amazing in daylight. Betcha your castle of Corona can’t hold a candle against it!” She climbed off the sleigh as Elsa was also getting up. The queen appeared to be a morning person, as she had just opened her eyes and was already wide awake and climbing down after her sister. Cassandra followed them towards the castle.

Arendelle Castle was beautiful, no doubt. It was, for lack of a better word, stockier than the castle of Corona. With its sturdy brickwork, it looked like the people inside could weather even the worst – or most unnatural – winter. However, it was utterly bland: Grey bricks with tiny, black windows, supporting a gray roof. _Maybe I should recommend decorating the roof with ice?_ Cassandra chuckled to herself. _Would that be a paradox?_

No sooner had they crossed the castle door, when a heavyset man spotted the group and hurried toward them. “There you are, Your Majesty! Your Highness! I’ve been searching all morning for you!”

“I’m so sorry, Kai. We decided, rather spontaneously, to pay the trolls a visit,” said Elsa.

“The trolls?” Kai looked at Anna. “Then does mean... Could they help you remember?” Anna nodded. “Oh, what wonderful news!” His eyes welled up and he closed them for a moment to hold back the tears. “I am so relieved to hear that the nightmare is finally over. Arendelle has been isolated for far too long! Or well, err, I suppose I am getting ahead of myself.” He looked at Elsa again. “Will we keep the gates open?” Elsa thought shortly and then nodded silently, still in thought. Kai gave a big, relieved sigh. “Now then.” He cleared his throat and turned to Kristoff. “ _Herr_ Borge— Kristoff, once more I’m terribly sorry that we could only offer you the library sofa to sleep on last night. We now have a bedroom prepared for you; I will lead you there as soon as you desire.”

“That’s alright,” replied Kristoff, “I didn’t actually sleep last night. I spend the entire time with Anna.” Elsa shot him a confused, slightly accusatory glance. “She showed me the castle! Sounds like she had some time to get to know every nook and cranny.” He chuckled awkwardly. Elsa looked aside, ashamed, and crossed her arm over to hold her elbow.

Kai turned to Cassandra. “And I don’t believe I had the pleasure of meeting you yet, Fru...?” He suspiciously eyed her black stone armor and the strands of blue hair not covered by the blanket. His eyes slightly narrowed, but on the whole, he maintained his professional demeanor.

Cassandra fumbled to adjust the blanket into covering more of her hair and as such, Elsa answered in her stead. “Her name is Cassandra, and she is a guest of the castle too. Please prepare a bedroom for her as well.”

Kai cleared his throat once more. “Certainly. It will be ready by nightfall. And now, Your Majesty, regrettably you will be needed in the throne room. There are many things still in need of discussing after...” he struggled, searching for the proper words, “...certain events.”

“Oh. Yes, of course, I...” Elsa’s fast-moving eyes showed her struggling to quickly deal with the unexpected change of events. “I had hoped to maybe show Cassandra around the town and castle. But, erm, yes, I suppose I _am_ still the queen. Erm... Kai, could you please supply Kristoff and Cassandra with some _specieda_ — I mean, kroner?” She turned to Anna. “Please, Anna, I hope you can stay with me. I’d love to have you by my side on my first day of queen business.”

Several minutes later, Cassandra and Kristoff stood outside the castle again, each with a heavily filled coin pouch at their belt. Cassandra eyed some of the coins. The newer ones bore Elsa’s profile on one side, while some, which appeared to be older, had that of a man, who Cassandra presumed to be Elsa and Anna’s father, the previous king. More closely examining a 10 kroner coin, Cassandra also saw a tiny lettering, “2½ _speciedaler_.” She turned to Kristoff. “What’s the speciedaler? Elsa nearly mentioned it earlier, too, didn’t she?”

Kristoff shrugged. “I think it’s the old coins. Don’t know really, I was only a kid back then, but I think ten to fifteen years ago or so, Arendelle and some neighboring countries switched to the kroner all together.”

 _Ten to fifteen years ago. So right around the time Elsa was isolated from the public._ Cassandra clutched the coin in her hand.

“So... I should probably look after Sven, are you gonna be alright on your own?” said Kristoff. Cassandra nodded. “Good. Well... See you later, then!”

Kristoff wandered off, and Cassandra was left on her own, which instantly made her happier. She stared at the old coin again and let her thoughts wander. When she was a child, she’d nearly had to live out a live similar to Elsa’s: separated from everybody, and not even able to gain loved ones at all, least of all her ‘mother.’ For all the faults her father had, he’d rescued her from spending a lifetime in isolation. Or, she thought to herself, in a way Rapunzel had: If she had never been kidnapped, little Cassandra would never had been left alone, and would never have been found by the captain. She chuckled. Rapunzel made her life better, even as a baby. Of course she did.

She shook her head to try and banish the thoughts, and started wandering around the marketplace, tasting pieces of _krumkake_ (delicious), _lefse_ (just as much), _lutefisk_ (not as much to her taste, she was happy to have it confined to festivities), and at another store, selling tastes from neighboring regions, she tried some _lakrits_ (like nothing she had ever tasted before, but she definitely liked it). Equipped with a few black, long _lakritspinnar_ , she continued wandering between the people. Eventually she arrived at the bladesmith that she had already admired from afar.

The larger woman was still working on the same sword, while the other had finished making toys for children and was now working a bellows for the furnace fire with her foot while simultaneously examining a scabbard. Cassandra could now recognize that not only her arm and mouth-covering cloth, but every bit of her skin she could see was decorated with artful black lines and patterns. They swung around her big, brown eyes, formed a maze-like pattern on her broad forehead, and several lines converged in a big circle on the tip of her nose.

The hammering woman, meanwhile, did not care in the slightest that a few curly strands had escaped the hair bands and were now dangling freely aside her face. The strands danced around her scar as she worked the metal, sticking to her sweaty skin, getting caught between her lips, getting sucked into her nose as she breathed in.

The anvil was a bit back from the open front of the smithy, with the “entrance” sided by sword blades polished to reflection hanging from the overhanging ceiling. Sitting on various shelves were the metal tools the two smiths needed in their daily work, most put away in an orderly fashion. As with every smithy, lamps were scarce, the place only illuminated by the fire’s light escaping the furnace. After she had placed the metal back in the heat, the first woman finally noticed Cassandra and looked down to her.

“Yes?” she asked tersely.

Cassandra blinked, her focus on the smithy’s interior suddenly broken. “I- I need a sword.”

“Yep,” the woman replied. But behind her, her colleague, with a smile too big to be hidden behind the veil, put aside the scabbard and begun moving her arms in intricate patterns. Glancing just slightly to the side, but not turning her head toward the other woman, the first said, “Thulile says, ‘You’ve come to the right place. What kind of sword would you like? We can make swords in whatever specification you desire! Introduce yourse—’ Oh, yeah. Name’s Freyja.” Freyja pressed her mouth shut, while Thulile grinned at her.

As Freyja went to retrieve the sword-in-the-making from the furnace, Cassandra was unsure whom of the two she should address but decided eventually on the more talkative Thulile. “I’m Cassandra.” Freyja only nodded briefly, but Thulile waved excitedly. “I don’t need anything fancy. Just a good one-handed smallsword, just short of a meter maybe, and a back-scabbard for it.”

Freyja eyes widened in surprise. “Back-scabbard? Huh. That’s uncommon. If you say so.” She turned around. “How much’s that?”

Thulile came to the front and handed Cassandra a piece of paper she had written on while Cassandra had spoken. It was a bill, listing the prices of all the parts and steps required for the sword. The prices all looked quite reasonable, certainly fitting within her price range while not suggesting cheapness, but... “A _lakritspinnar_?” She still held some in her hand.

“What?” Freyja turned to Thulile again, cocking her head. Thulile only winked at her, and Freyja rolled her eyes, but couldn’t contain a slight grin. “Yep, as it says. You able to pay half ahead?”

Cassandra nodded in confusion, counted off the necessary coins and notes from her pouch, and handed them to Freyja together with one of the candy sticks. She put the lakrits straight in her mouth and did some calculations in her head.

“It’s Monday today, and we have little else to do, I s’pose it should be done by the end of the week. Come back on Friday, ’round noon, and it should be all ready for you. Bring the other half of the money, ’course. An’ thanks for the candy,” she took it out of her mouth for a moment, “I didn’t have time to go to the market myself.” Thulile signed again. “’You should be thanking me, you know?’ Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks, honey.” She lifted Thulile’s mask, planted a kiss on her lip, and then watched in amusement as Thulile’s face scrunched in disgust – she was clearly not as fond of the flavor – and she stuck her tongue out before letting the mask fall on her face again.

Cassandra stood aside and looked away politely. “I’ll see you on Friday, then.”

Freyja, back to her usual taciturn self, only nodded, and returned to hammering the sword before her. Thulile waved but was now preoccupied with drawing down some more numbers and sword-sketches on another piece of paper.

The rest of Cassandra’s day was entirely uneventful. She tasted even more specialties of Arendelle and its neighbors, completely filling herself, until she felt like she would explode. The more she ate, the more she realized that she hadn’t eaten in quite a while, which only made her eat more. Other than that, she watched the festivities from afar, making sure that she wasn’t accidentally pulled in to dancing around the market square or any of the games played by the children. When the sun started to set over the bay, she made her way back to the castle, entering through the front gate. After she stood in the hallway for a few minutes, unsure where to head, an older woman rushed towards her.

“Are you Cassandra, by any chance?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, wonderful. Kai told me to lead you to your room as soon as you returned. If you would follow me?”

She led Cassandra up a curved flight of stairs, and down a long hallway. “Could you tell me where Elsa is?” Cassandra asked as they went past several white doors.

“The Queen is currently still in the throne room, discussing with Kai and the guards about how to proceed with certain figures who have revealed their true motives over the last days. I must inform you that she is not to be disturbed at the moment.” She stopped in front of a door and unlocked it. “This will be your room,” she handed Cassandra the key she had used, “and your key. If there should be anything you need, the servants’ rooms are on the ground floor, there should always be at least one of us awake. Otherwise, I wish you a very good night.”

After Cassandra had expressed her thanks, the woman went back down the hallway, while Cassandra closed the door behind her and examined the room. It was quite sizable, definitely more than she was used to, although somewhat sparsely furnished: Only a bed, a large dresser, and a desk were in it, as well as a furnace on one wall, with a fire lit. Walking towards the window, Cassandra threw her bag onto the bed. She opened the window and looked out over the bay view. Rapunzel, she was sure, would have immediately oooh-ed over it and maybe even started a drawing on the spot; It was a beautiful sight. Cassandra, however, looked down the wall. There was a flower box hanging just below the window, but otherwise, it was a flat wall of gray bricks. _No chance for anyone to climb up here_ , she thought. She rolled her eyes and chuckled. Not that anyone would want to get to her here, anyway. Nobody knew that she was here, especially at this time.

She went to the bed and emptied out her bag. Only a few items fell out: Her torn-up handmaiden headpiece, the Cassandrium necklace she had gotten from Varian, and a folded sheet of paper. The former two items she faintly remembered putting into the bag when she had woken up without her memory, confused why she’d ever wear these reminders – though of course now she was glad she did so, as otherwise they would be covered by a sheet of stone – but she was confused about the paper. She knew what it was but could have sworn she’d had it in her clothing pocket, not the bag. Having it out in the open, or even in existence now would be far too risky, so she chucked it into the fire while reading the headline of the invitation one last time. “Invitation to the Coronation of our new Queen,” it said, atop a picture of Anna. And below it, already partway engulfed by the flames, “After the sudden departure of our beloved Queen Elsa...”


End file.
